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Overview

When journalist Peter Merrick is asked to write a eulogy for his mentor, Jesuit priest James Ingram, his biggest concern is doing right by the man. But when his routine research reveals disturbing ties to cases of abuse and clues to a shadowy deal that trades justice for power, everything he believed about his friend is called into question.

With the US presidential election looming, incumbent Arthur Wyncott is quickly losing ground among religious voters. Meanwhile, Owen Feeney, head of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, is facing nearly a billion dollars in payments to victims of sex abuse. When Feeney hits on a solution to both men’s problems, it seems the stars have aligned. That is until Ally Larkin—Wyncott’s brilliant campaign aide—starts to piece together the shocking details.

As the election draws closer and the stakes get higher, each choice becomes a calculation: Your faith, or your church? Your principles, or your candidate? The person you most respect, or the truth that could destroy their legacy? When the line between right and wrong is blurred, how do you act, and whom do you save?

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

Reviewed by Lex Allen for Readers' Favorite
The Shepherd’s Calculus by C.S. Farrelly reveals the machinations of incumbent Arthur Wyncott’s campaign office that’s losing their grip on the religious voter base, and those of Owen Feeney, head of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, as he contends with a sex abuse scandal that could cost the Church over a billion dollars in lawsuit payments to the victims. Both appear on the verge of losing until Feeney, an ally of Wyncott’s, devises a plan that could see them both through. Ally Larkin is a brilliant young woman new to the campaign trail on Wyncott’s behalf. While learning the ropes, she stumbles across several shocking indices that cause her to question her principles. Peter Merrick, a journalist, is asked to write a eulogy for Jesuit priest James Ingram. When his research reveals letters that hint of abuse, and clues to a huge cover-up, he becomes embroiled in a search for the truth that could destroy his faith and love for his long-time friend and mentor.
C.S. Farrelly has written a timely expose of the inner workings of a U.S. major political election, brilliantly intertwined with a sexual abuse scandal within the Catholic Church. Through protagonists, Ally and Peter, Farrelly reveals the inner workings of powerful men whose obsessive faith and ambition overcome all sense of ethics and morality. The Shepherd’s Calculus is a character-driven mystery thriller that delivers a great reading experience and a realistic view of the inner workings of institutions of government and religion that control the lives of billions of people. Fans of political intrigue, religious mystery and novels that display the best and the worst of humanity, justice and faith will love The Shepherd’s Calculus.

JerseyGirlBookReviews

More than 1 year ago

In her debut novel, The Shepherd's Calculus, author C.S. Farrelly weaves a compelling political thriller that delves into the intriguing intersection of politics and religion. It is a multi-layered tale that masterfully interweaves how power and money influence political and religious choices and decisions. Mix in deception, hidden agendas and dark secrets, political posturing, Church corruption, and the sobering child sexual abuse cases by priests, and you have an intriguing tale about a tangled and devious web created by political players and church leaders to each get what they want at any cost.
As a fan of political thrillers, I was fascinated by the author's interweaving of politics and religion. I was intrigued by the variety of cut-throat political campaign strategies utilized to get the votes in their candidate's favor. As a Catholic, I thought that the author's examination of the Catholic Church's history of maintaining silence in regard to the traumatically scandalous child sexual abuse cases by priests until it was brought to light by the unified voices of the survivors, and how the Church continued to cover it up in an attempt to avoid the serious propensity and monetary backlash, was very sobering, disturbing, and thought-provoking.
The Sheperd's Calculus is a well-written and compelling political thriller. It has realistic characters, and a believable political and religious opportunistic pairing with enough drama and intriguing plot twists that will keep the reader engaged and turning the pages until the surprising conclusion.

LazyDayBooks

More than 1 year ago

“The truly terrifying thing about evil isn’t that it exists, Peter,” Ingram had said. “It’s that it manages to coexist with good in the places we least expect it. And always has.”
C.S. Farrelly uses the first half of The Shepherd’s Calculus to slowly build her characters and their individual plot lines. With their varied ages and experiences, it was difficult at times to follow their individual histories and how they came to be involved in this mystery. It’s just past the halfway point where she starts weaving them together into a compelling story exposing how one individual can profoundly impact so many people, perhaps even an entire country. I promise, your patience in the early chapters will be rewarded!
I expected more drama and intrigue, but the subject matter really does provide enough of that on its own without the need for more. Child molestation is a heavy subject. Though this book is fiction, Farrelly did an admirable job developing the characters for the children in an authentic and believable way, showing respect to real life victims and their traumatic experiences. I think with a subject like this, it would be easy to portray the priests who committed these crimes as caricatures of evil, but I think she captured them perfectly as the evil hiding in plain sight.
The Shepherd’s Calculus is a compelling examination of where religion and politics intersect. Or collide. Depends on your viewpoint. This isn’t a mystery that will keep you guessing, you’ll know where it’s going early on in your reading. But it does keep you turning the pages to see how it all comes together and to make sure justice is served.
And the plot is so real, it reads like tomorrow’s headlines. Scary indeed.
*This review was first published at lazydaybooks.com. I received a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.